Device foe separating pails



W. P. REED DEVICE FOR SEPARATING FAILS Filed Jan. 15', 1926 Patented Aug. 17, 1926.

UNITED. STATES 1,596,304 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM 1P. REED, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DEVICE FOR SEPARA'IING PAILS.

Application filed January 13, 1926. Serial No. 80,913.

frequently with breakage amountingto any appreciable loss, sometimes as high as five per cent. The device to which my present invention relates has been devised to facilitate the separation of nested candy pails, or similar. containers, which have become packed together, and my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of cooperating parts and members which I have devised to attain the ends in view, the es sential elements of my invention being more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. I i

Figure 1 of the drawing, in which I have illustrated my invention in the'best form known to me, mynovel pail separator is shown in side elevation applied to a pail to be separated from the pail of the stack nest below it, part of such pail being broken.

away to disclose the portion of the device arranged inside thereof and different positions of the operating handle being inclicated in dotted lines; Fig. .2 is a :view, principally in elevation, illustrating the outside member of the device viewed outwardly from a plane indicated by the section line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33 of Fig.

1, looking downward as indicated by this arrow. v i V The same reference characters indicate the same parts in both figures of the draw- The candy pails A, in connection with which I have illustrated my separating device, are usually stacked for shipment in nested form, as illustrated in the drawing, and it will readily be understood that owing to their tapered form they are apt to become very tightly wedged together, so that the-y cannot be separated byordinary means. The separating device which I have devised to overcome this vdifliculty is formed with a framejadapted to engage the outer, lowermost one of the pair of. buckets to be separated, and a rocking lever mounted in said frame provided with a gripping member arranged to engage the upper bucket.- In the present instance, the frame of the device includes an upright sheet metal ber 1 (the position of the parts being designated with reference to the normal working position of the device, as illustrated in Fig. 1,) this member being in the present form of sheet metal bent. to provide opposite side flanges 1-1 and connecting upper and lower cross-members marked 2 and 2*, respectively. The frame also includes an upper horizontal handle barf 3 which is riveted between the side flanges 1 of the upright frame member, the free end. of this bar being designed to serve as a handle in adjusting and using the device. Pivoted to the handle bar 3, for the purpose of angular adjustment with respect thereto, is

a bar at which in the present instance, as shown, is also formed of sheet metal bent to form side flanges 5-5 anda cross member 6, the xoros s-member being cutaway, at the top to clear the handle 'bar and the top ends of the flanges being arranged to straddle the handle bar and provide the pivotal support for its adjustment. Ade jacent its lower end the bar 4 is equipped with one or more rollers whichform a backing support or member to sustain the thrust of the gripping jawwhichwill later be described. In the present instance, as illustrated, I employ fiverollers, four of which (marked '7) are arranged inupper and lower pairs at the outer sides of the flanges 5-5, and one of which (marked 7 is arranged below the lower pair of rollers 7 between the flanges 55. p I

The lowerend of the frame. member 1 is provided with an engaging member in the form ofa supporting foot 8 which in the present instance is provided with means for adjustment in the frame, toadapt the device for use with pails of various sizes. To this end, the engaging member, or foot proper is formed upon a block 8 arranged to seat between the side flanges 1?, of the upright, the

block 8 being formed with a series of similarly arranged pairs of'bolt holes 9 disposed at different heights and arranged to engage alternatingly a pair of bolts 10 by means of which the block and foot may be secured to the. upright frame member at' any selected point of adjustment.

Between the side flanges '1 1? of the upright frame member and extending through the space between the cross-members 2 and 2 .is pivoted an operating handle 11 which at itsinner end is equipped with a. pivoted gripping jaw with upwardly in Y clined teeth 13 adapted when the device is operated to bite into the exterior face of the upper bucket, the thrust of theja-wbeing sustained by the backing. rollersralreadydescribed.

The pivoted bar 4 above mentionedis cone nected to the frame bar 1 by a headed screw bolt 14, the adjustment of the threaded nut 1 f of which limits the extent of separation between the rollers 7 and the gripping jaw 12 whereby the device may be adjusted to operate. upon buckets ofdifferent thick-. nesses. Preferably the bars l and 1 are stressed apart by a compression spring 15 which in the present instance is interposed between bearing plates 16 engaging such bars, a similar pairof plates 17 being also employed adjacent the head of the bolt and the adjusting nut.

It is obvious that constructed as described and illustrated, and the handle being raised to upper or starting position, as indicated in Fig. 1, the device may be appliedto a pair of buckets of proper size to which adjustment has been made by proper setting of the foot block 8" and adjusting nut 14, and that when the handle is then depressed the gripping jaw will be forced upwardly and inwardly towards the rollers to engage the upper bucket and lift it, the inner face of the bucket riding smoothly without friction upon the rollers, and the pivotal mounting of the serrated gripping jaw upon the operating handle enabling it to auto: matically seat itself and maintain its engagement with the outer face of the bucket throughout its range of movement.

I claim 1. A device for separating tapering nested buckets comprising a frame having an engaging member adapted to cooperate with the outer bucket, an anti-friction backs ing member carried by said frame and arranged to contact one face of the inner bucket, a movable gripping jaw arranged to make engagement with the opposite face of said inner bucket, and operating means on said frame connected with said gripping jaw and arranged when operated to force said jaw upwardly towards said backing member.

2. A device for separating tapering nested buckets comprising a frame having an adjustable foot arranged to bear upon the upper edge of the outer bucket, and antifriction backing member carried by said frame and arranged to contact one face of the inner bucket, a movable gripping jaw arranged to make engagement with the opposite face of said inner bucket, and operat ing means on said frame connected with said gripping aw and arranged when operated to force said jaw upwardly toward said backing member.

3. A device for mp arating tapering nested buckets comprising a" frame; having an engaging member'ad'apted to cooperate with the outer bucket, a bar carried by said frame and: equipped with anti-friction rollers arranged to contact the inner face of the innenbuc'k'et, said bar being adjustable to shift said rollers to position of contact, a movable gripping jaw arranged to make engagement with the outer face of said inner bucket, and operating means on said frame connected with said gripping. jaw and arrangedwhen operated to force said jaw upwardly toward said rollers.

4. A device for separating tapering nested buckets comprisinga frame having an engaging. foot arranged to bear upon the upper edge of the outer bucket, an anti friction backing member carried by said frame and arranged to contact the inner face of the inner bucket, a hand lever intermediately pivoted on said frame and provided with a gripping-jaw at its inner end, said gripping jaw being arranged when operated to swing upwardly toward said backing member into engagement with the outer face offsaid innerbucket.

5. A device for separating tapering nested buckets comprising a frame having an engaging foot: arranged to bear upon the upper edge of the outer bucket, an anti friction backing member carried by said frame and arranged to contact the inner face of'theinner bucket, a hand lever-intermediately pivoted on said frame and equipped at its inner end with a pivotally connected gripping jaw, said gripping jaw being arranged when operated to swing upwardly toward said backing member into engagement with the outer face of said'inr ner bucket.

6. A device for separating tapering nested buckets comprising a frame having an upright bar provided with an engaging foot at" its lower end having a horiozntal top cross bar arranged to serve as a handle, an upright bar connected at its top to said cross-bar and equipped with backing rollers arranged to bear against the inner face of the inner bucket, a hand lever intermediately pivoted on said frame and equipped at its inner end with a pivotally connected gripping jaw, said gripping aw being arranged when operated to swing upwardly toward said backing rollers into engagement with the outer face ofsaid inner bucket.

7 A device for separating tapering nested buckets according to claim 6 in which said second mentioned upright bar is pivoted to said cross-bar and is connected to said first mentioned upright bar by an ad'- justing bolt and in which said upright bars are stressed apart by a compression spring,

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name.

WILLIAM P. REED. 

